DJKostya

I have to visit the Gold Coast at the end of September, such good timing. It won't be school holidays and with a bit of luck the new hyper should be open

Came across this article this morning. Unfortunately I can't link direct to the article though so copy and pasted it. Dreamworld sued for almost $300,000 Dreamworld has copped another blow as the theme park is being sued for almost $300,000. The Courier Mail reports an Indian cricketer lodged a District Court claim against Ardent Leisure after a waterslide called ‘The Wedgie’ ruined his love for the game. Bikramjeet Singh Benipal claims he was sent down the slide before he was ready, which caused damage to his knee ligament. He said since the November 2015 incident, he was suffering from trauma like flashbacks and nightmares and could not play cricket. He’s claiming $244,000 for economic loss and $250 for pain relievers like Panadol and Deep Heat. The Courier Mail reports it is the first lawsuit lodged against Ardent Leisure since the horror Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy last October, which left four tourists dead.

I blacked out on Deja Vu at SFMM, just before the first drop. It was a combination of dehydration (we stood in the sun for about an hour without anything to drink before riding) and, according to doctors, massive stress I had placed on my body riding hundreds of rollercoasters and rides in the preceding 6 weeks (About 112 different rollercoasters at about 10 different parks across the USA). All I remember is when we returned to the station and I woke up all I wanted to do was ride it again because I didn't remember the ride.

I rode Valravn at CP last year. It was OK but not great. SheiKra was better IMO. If you are going to spend 20-30million AUD on a B&M I think that there are much better options from them out there. That being said if that is the price range for the current coaster under construction then I think that what they are building is the better option. It is highly visual and for theme parks in Australia will make a huge statement.

Oh I agree. I once got stuck on The Mummy at Universal for 2 hours, was probably one of the best experiences ever at a theme park but for some people this would not be a great experience.

Still one of my favourite coaster designs but definitely a flaw in the design of the launch. I don't know how feasible it would be but perhaps some sort of speed check prior to entering the first inversion and a braking system could potentially avoid this happening again. For example: Coaster train needs to achieve X km/h to safely run the course. After launch speed is checked and if X km/h is not achieved a braking system engages to stop the train from entering the first inversion and runs the train backwards onto the launch straight i.e. a rollback

If we were more organized we should have had talks with MW about arranging ERT and a tour of the new coaster once it is complete for Parkz members.

Here's my vote

Return to the Blue Lagoon obviously

Yes I did. Overall even in light however I thought it was amazing. I was also lucky enough to get a front row ride on Millennium Force in the dark which was also amazing.

Luckily I was able to get to the USA and Canada this year: 1. Millennium Force (Cedar Point) 2. Maverick (Cedar Point) 3. Vortex (Canada's Wonderland) 4. Mighty Canadian Mountain Buster (Canada's Wonderland) 5. Top Thrill Dragster (Cedar Point) 6. Jet Rescue (SeaWorld) 7. Le Vampire (La Ronde) 8. Le Monstre (La Ronde) 9. Raptor (Cedar Point) 10. BuzzSaw (Dreamworld)

The tragedy at Dreamworld today now hits home even harder by putting names and faces to this tragedy. I am from Canberra and unfortunately know 2 of those now identified as having been involved. Whilst I was in no way close to either of them (I know them through work) it makes the pain and shock of what has happened that much more real. The community here on Parkz is amazing and reading about what is happening in our theme parks brings a smile to my face each and every day. However this tragedy has just hit a little too close to home and I do not feel that, for the time being, it is the right place for me to be. I will be back but for now I think a break away from theme parks in general is necessary.

This is absolutely horrible for everyone involved. My condolences to the family and friends of those involved and to staff and responders who have to deal with the situation. The incoming investigation is going to put a huge dampener on the industry. It's going to take a long time to recover from an incident such as this.

Whilst I said before that not knowing and seeing all of the discussion has been awesome knowing and seeing all of the wild theories must also be just as awesome. I would love to be sitting back reading through all the theories about what it could be and smiling to myself saying "Wow so far off the mark!" or even "Yep you're right on the money!" When we do finally know what it is it would be interesting to go back over the discussion to see who actually guessed correctly first.

TBH I'm almost dreading the announcement of what this coaster will actually be (Of course I want to know but not knowing is just as fun!). The fun of having everyone guess and throw ideas about is far more interesting than knowing what it actually is and having to wait for it to be finished so we can ride it. In terms of marketing this will either be a big win or a big loss for MovieWorld in my opinion. At present you have all the coaster nuts on maximum overdrive trying to figure things out. If the announcement lives up to the expectations then waiting has been worth it and a success. If it doesn't then you've let down those who you've whipped up into a frenzy over what you are building. It's a fine line here but I hope that it does pay off for them. The updates provided by those here on the forums have been great. Little bits of information trickling in to feed the hype just makes the discussion that much more interesting. I have no doubt that the coaster will live up to the hype and I can't wait to ride it whatever it is

Accommodation was pretty cheap (I didn't stay on the point). I stayed at Camp Sandusky which only cost about $40 a night. I didn't hire a car I used one of the local taxi services. It cost me $20 a day to go to and from the point. There was no point to buying a fast pass for the time I was there although I did consider it when I was planning. As I said previously most of the rides were walk on (I will post a picture of the Millennium Force station when I get home, they were letting people stay on and re-ride it was that quiet). Originally I had intended to spend some time at King's Island but it was closed when I was able to go (They were down to reduced hours on weekends only) which meant I decided to spend more time in Sandusky. For those interested I did a heap of other things in Sandusky aside from Cedar Point including: - Merry-Go-Round Museum - Thrill Centre - Some local wineries - Maritime Museum - Skateworld (I officiate Roller Derby which was the main point of this trip so it was nice to get some practice) - Kalahari Water Park - Paragliding - Fishing on Lake Erie

Not rude at all, a valid comment. As I said at the bottom I did do other things and not just theme parks While I did spend 6 days at Cedar Point I didn't spend all day there either. Most of the time it was too hot to be there in the afternoons so I would head in around 4pm and leave when they closed at 10pm so filled the day with other things in the area. In regards to your suggestions I did all of the things you mentioned except visit Chicago . All up I was overseas for 28 days and I only spent 8 days at theme parks. I agree the park is great don't get me wrong but it just didn't wow me as I was expecting. Had the coasters not been so rough (Maybe it was coming from Cedar Point I'm not sure) I probably would have enjoyed it more. Leviathan was good and I rode it several times but I was just surprised by how rough it was, I know it's not quite comparing apples with apples but Millennium Force by comparison was a much much smoother ride and it's 12 years older.

I would have loved to have done King's Island but it was closed while I was there

So I have just returned from a quick coaster trip to the USA and Canada. Overall the trip was great and I very much did not want to come home. Cedar Point (6 days) OK 6 days seems like a long time but when I last visited 10 years ago we waited 2-3 hours to get on everything and over 4 days we rode everything once and got some double rides on MF and TTD so my planning was with this in mind. Getting there however was a different story. It was dead. The longest queues were for Valravn and Maverick and even they were only 30 minutes. Raptor also got some big queues if Valravn went down. So a quick breakdown of the big Coasters: Millennium Force Still number 1 in my book. Over 6 days I rode this 50 times. Yes I counted the highlight was definitely front seat in the dark (Bugs taste like chicken). Valravn Was OK but I think that SheiKra was better. TTD Starting to get a bit rough but still awesome. I was also lucky enough to get a roll back Raptor This was way better than the last time. They are no longer trimming speed at the block breaks and are letting it run at full speed which was awesome! Rougarou This was better when it was Mantis and standup. The ride has become incredibly rough and was disappointing. Maverick This was my first time riding Maverick as it was under construction last time I was there. This was AMAZING! Both launches were amazing! Mean Streak I rode this once the whole time I was there. There is a damn good reason they are closing it at the end of the season. I offered to personally burn this pile of crap to the ground whilst I was there. Gatekeeper Another new one for me. Overall it was OK but not fantastic. TBH I think that this would be better if it was faster. The new park app was great for seeing how long ride queues were and I highly recommend it. There is also park wide free wifi. The park was spotless. As for food avoid Panda Express near MF. I ate there and got sick. Talking to people around the park that is pretty common. Canada's Wonderland (1 day) I had initially intended to spend 2 days here but I was very very disappointed with this park. It was a bit like going down memory lane what with Wonderland having some of the same rides. 2 out and back hyper coasters by the same manufacturer in the same park. Not sure about that thinking! Generally most of the rides were incredibly rough including Leviathan. So a quick breakdown of the big Coasters: Leviathan Was a pretty good coaster but was quite rough. Vortex Was an amazing suspended coaster, fast and lots of turns. Definitely a highlight. Behemoth Was incredibly rough but some great air time on some of the hills. Thunder Run (VR Experience) The park was offering free VR rides on this to season pass holders. It was amazing. The story that you saw (Dwarfs in a mountain mine being chased by intruders and then being rescued by dragons) was also pretty good. Wonder Mountain's Guardian This was pretty good however it was difficult to see where you were actually shooting. Backlot Stunt Coaster This was fantastic and was actually pretty smooth (Which was rare in this park). Flight Deck Hands down the WORST SLC I have ever been on. I have never ridden one as rough as this one. Mighty Canadian Mountain Buster This was also surprisingly smooth and had some great air time. Time Warp Never again would I ride a Zamperla flying coaster. There is no way of stopping your head bouncing around between the headrest. Wild Beast Hello Bush Beast! This was incredibly rough but did bring back memories. Ghoster Coaster This brought back a lot of memories. The Beastie was the first roller coaster I ever went on. Seeing as I can't ride that anymore this was a great trip down memory lane. Overall the park is nice but it just seems really disjointed and lacks some punch in the coaster department (Which is odd seeing as they have so many coasters). La Ronde (1 day) Whoever said I was going to be disappointed by this park (Sorry can't remember who it was) you were right. This park is terrible. When I arrived there were signs out the front advising that 9 rides were out for the day. That's nearly 20% of the park. The grounds are not maintained (I had to brush cobwebs off myself on several occasions). It's difficult to get around the park and all of the rides are in some serious need of some TLC. I know that rust can in some situations is OK but seriously the Boomerang looks like it should be condemned. So a quick breakdown of the big Coasters: Le Vampire Was running backwards which was awesome. It's stuck out in a part of the park that management seems to have forgotten. Cobra Was closed and looks pretty derelict. Dragon Also closed. Endor A typical SLC. Rough as guts (But not as bad as Flight Deck, not by a long shot). Goliath This was the only good thing in the whole park. Lots of air time hills and good speed. Le Monstre OK little rant about this one. So it has 2 tracks, both different. Fast Pass users can only access 1 side of the track. On the day I visited Side A only had one train running. Side B has 2 trains running. I'll let you guess which one the fast pass users got (Hint: it was not Side B). I waited over and hour to get on Side A. Easily this was the longest wait of the day. Each train takes 16 people and they were letting 12 fast pass users onto each train. As for the rides both tracks were great with lots of speed and some decent headchoppers. Surprisingly this wasn't as rough as I expected it to be. Super Manage Was also closed. So that was my quick trip to the USA/Canada. Overall it was a great trip (I of course did other non-coaster things). I would definitely go back to Cedar Point. Canada's Wonderland was OK but disappointing. La Ronde can go die in a ditch for all I care.

Whilst not great for coasters if you're in Singapore why not quickly duck over to Malaysia and visit LEGOLAND? Friends of mine went and stayed at the resort in one of the pirate rooms and said it was amazing.

After some unfortunate news I have had to change my upcoming trip to the USA/Canada I now have to spend a whole week at Cedar Point before heading north to Canada's Wonderland then La Ronde. How will I survive

I agree Sea World was never aimed at teenagers. I guess I was just generally disappointed with Sea World. It was lots of little things such as: The very long wait to get inside (Even when I got to a booth 1 adult cash payment took way longer than it should have) Jet Rescue out in the middle of nowhere fences with barb wire around the perimeter (Necessary I know but perhaps they could cover it so guests can't see from the inside) poor/nonexistent signage and no staffing to help people around when parts of the main thoroughfare are closed lack of food options because the main food court was closed. Things like that all add up over the course of the day.

So after a very long absence I finally made a trip to the Gold Coast this past weekend (Admittedly it was for a Roller Derby tournament) and decided to take a few extra days to get reacquainted with the parks. Movie World I hopped off the plane and headed straight to Movie World. I was dissapointed that Superman was under maintenance but I haven't had a chance to ride Green Lantern yet. I was really annoyed when rocking up to the front gate to see that Green Lantern was also not operating. It would have been nice if they had this information on the website or on their hotline (of which I checked both). Not wanting to really visit having 2 major attractions down I decided to cut my losses and head over to Dreamworld. Dreamworld To say it's been a while since i've been here would be an understatement. The last time I visited The Giant Drop was only new. Overall though I was pretty impressed with the park. It was clean and tidy and everything was operating. I was very unimpressed with HWSW as they only had 1 ride op to man the ride. Cycles were taking upwards of 5 minutes and the wait was around 45 minutes. It was still just as rough as I remember it being back when it was a Luna Park the last time I rode it. Aside from the Rapids and Log ride everything else was a pretty short wait. The highlight of the first day was definitely the ride op on BuzzSaw. That guy really enjoys his job, my favourite quote from him to a girl who was screaming BEFORE the ride even started was "Don't worry if you fall i'll catch you". Day 2 he was working on Pandemonium and was cracking wise the whole time. Sea World What happened to Sea World? I was very dissapointed overall with Sea World. The first impression that they made was terrible. I got there about an hour after opening time and had to wait 45 minutes just to get inside. I was handed the usual promotional stuff and a computer printed map on a piece of A4 paper. With the food court area getting the new roof getting around was difficult and very poorly signed, Jet Rescue seems to be abandoned in a corner all by itself (It was a walk on). Most of the rides were a walk on but I couldn't help thinking that there really wasn't much to do for the older crowd. There's certainly lots of rides for kids but not for teenagers or adults. The animal exhibitions though were great. One thing I did notice, sorry if this has already been posted somewhere, but there seemed to be some work going on around the old Sea Viper site. So that was my quick trip up to the Gold Coast. Overall things were OK, not great but OK. One thing that I did find interesting though through talking with the ride ops was that the parks were all on offpeak mode now that the QLD school holidays were over. When I mentioned that it was only QLD that was back at school and that most states were still off on holidays they mentioned that management only looked at QLD school holidays. I thought that this was a bit short sighted seeing as many of the tourists on the Gold Coast, hell even from less than an hour away across the border, were still on holidays.

I was at Sea World this morning and yes the pathway no longer closes during the Jet Ski Stunt show

So the article below appeared in the Herald Sun yesterday. It's interesting that the government is now keen for a theme park when they knocked back African Safari World a few years back. http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/could-docklands-be-a-good-place-for-a-theme-park/news-story/049130b51097830cf608b736c1652b5d